November 30, 2010

The burgeoning field of cultural
neuroscience is finding that culture influences brain development, and perhaps
vice versa.

(November, 2010) When an American thinks about whether he is
honest, his brain activity looks very different than when he thinks about
whether another person is honest, even a close relative. That’s not true for
Chinese people. When a Chinese man evaluates whether he is honest, his brain
activity looks almost identical to when he is thinking about whether his mother
is honest.

That finding — that American and
Chinese brains function differently when considering traits of themselves
versus traits of others (Neuroimage, Vol. 34, No. 3) — supports behavioral
studies that have found that people from collectivist cultures, such as China,
think of themselves as deeply connected to other people in their lives, while
Americans adhere to a strong sense of individuality.

The study also shows the power of
cultural neuroscience, the growing field that uses brain-imaging technology to
deepen the understanding of how environment and beliefs can shape mental
function. Barely heard of just five years ago, the field has become a vibrant
area of research, and the University of Michigan, the University of California,
Los Angeles, and Emory University have created cultural neuroscience centers.
In addition, in April a cultural neuroscience meeting at the University of
Michigan attracted such psychology luminaries as Hazel Markus, PhD, Michael
Posner, PhD, Steve Suomi, PhD, and Claude Steele, PhD, to discuss their work in
the context of cultural neuroscience.

November 24, 2010

(November 24, 2010) Chronic jet lag alters the brain in ways that
cause memory and learning problems long after one’s return to a regular 24-hour
schedule, according to research by University of California, Berkeley,
psychologists.

Twice a week for four weeks, the
researchers subjected female Syrian hamsters to six-hour time shifts – the
equivalent of a New York-to-Paris airplane flight. During the last two weeks of
jet lag and a month after recovery from it, the hamsters’ performance on
learning and memory tasks was measured.

As expected, during the jet lag
period, the hamsters had trouble learning simple tasks that the hamsters in the
control group aced. What surprised the researchers was that these deficits
persisted for a month after the hamsters returned to a regular day-night
schedule.

What’s more, the researchers
discovered persistent changes in the brain, specifically within the
hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays an intricate role in memory
processing. They found that, compared to the hamsters in the control group, the
jet-lagged hamsters had only half the number of new neurons in the hippocampus
following the month long exposure to jet lag. New neurons are constantly being
added to the adult hippocampus and are thought to be important for
hippocampal-dependent learning, Kriegsfeld said, while memory problems are
associated with a drop in cell maturation in this brain structure.

November 22, 2010

(November 22, 2010) Therapeutic
interventions that incorporate training in mindfulness meditation have become
increasingly popular, but to date, little is known about neural mechanisms
associated with these interventions. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR),
one of the most widely used mindfulness training programs, has been reported to
produce positive effects on psychological well-being and to ameliorate symptoms
of a number of disorders. Here, we report a controlled longitudinal study to
investigate pre-post changes in brain gray matter concentration attributable to
participation in an MBSR program. Anatomical MRI images from sixteen healthy,
meditation-naïve participants were obtained before and after they underwent the
eight-week program. Changes in gray matter concentration were investigated
using voxel-based morphometry, and compared to a wait-list control group of 17
individuals. Analyses in a priori regions of interest confirmed increases in
gray matter concentration within the left hippocampus. Whole brain analyses
identified increases in the posterior cingulate cortex, the temporo-parietal
junction, and the cerebellum in the MBSR group compared to the controls. The
results suggest that participation in MBSR is associated with changes in gray
matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory
processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective
taking.

About Me

Graduated from University of Marmara, Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Design of Industrial Products and completed her dissertation titled "A Review on the Effects of the Trends & Periods on the Structural Constructions on the Products That are Associated With Consumer Electronics" in the same department for her Master’s Degree.

Lectured at University of Anatolia, Department of Industrial Products on part-time basis. Currently, she has been lecturing on part-time basis Faculty of Arts & Science, Department of Industrial Products Design at University of Doğuş.

She was the Head of ETMK Istanbul Branch from February 2010 to June 2011.

She took part in many competitions and projects as a member of advisory board and jury. Currently, she is the acting executive officer coordinating various projects between the Industry and University at the company where she is employed.

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